Bioware locking down LGBT-related forum topics… again

It's not surprising that the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community is torn when it comes to Bioware. On one hand, the developer has included the option to pursue same-sex relationships in some of its biggest games; at the other, the company has come under fire in the past for semi-censorship in its forums when same-sex relationships are discussed in public. Recently, it was revealed that players could engage in a male-male romantic encounter in Dragon Age: Origins, but it seems like Bioware is now cracking down on forum topics regarding same-sex romance in its games.

According to a reader who first contacted Ars about the issue, "There are a bunch of gay and gay-friendly gamers who are posting topics about why male/male romances (because, of course, they have female/female) were deliberately left absent from [Mass Effect 2] who are finding that moderators are taking a tad too much liberty with their ability to close topics. Nearly every thread about the issue has been closed for the most minute reasons, even so far as going to say that the discussion of same-sex romances in the general forums is considered spoiler material."

Looking through someof the forumdiscussions, it's easy to see why the LGBT community feels frustrated, though it's also possible to see the motivations of the moderators who locked down the discussions. Such topics are often hotbeds for aggressive conversation, and it's understandable that community moderators might want to preemptively shut them down to avoid flame wars. The problem is that the recent shutdowns aren't great PR for Bioware because so little explanation is given for the actions.